WEST SENECA — Heading into overtime of the Class C Far West Regional, Wilson forward Aidan Neumann received a straightforward, motivating message from Lakemen assistant coach Stephen McCarthy.
“Keep your head up, God will give you an opportunity,” McCarthy told his star forward.
Sure enough, 11 minutes into overtime, that opportunity came.
Neumann’s hat trick goal in the 91st minute gave Wilson a 3-2 win over Section V’s Naples on Friday night at West Seneca West High School, sending the Lakemen to the state semifinals for the first time since 2001.
“That whole game was just back and forth,” said Wilson head coach Paul Herrmann. “We’re in overtime, and Aiden Neumann gets that goal and sends us to states. … I didn’t even cheer for the last goal, I was just in shock.”
The game-winning goal may not have been how Wilson (20-0-0) drew it up, but it counted all the same.
Defender Archer Simpson played a ball down the left wing to Neumann, who shielded it and turned off a defender to open space for a look at goal. The senior forward let loose a low, hard shot that appeared harmless off the foot, but it squeaked out of the hands of the Naples goalkeeper and crept over the goal line.
The game-winner sent the sizable Wilson contingent into pandemonium, as a shirtless Neumann and his team sprinted over to celebrate with the crowd.
“Archer passed it to me down the line and I shielded it, tried to get a turn and shot it on the ground as hard as possible,” Neumann said of his game-winning goal, his 54th of the season. “My teammates, they set it all up for me and I just finish, that’s my job.”
The game had the makings